Optimism has returned to the cava sector, shaken for too many years by bad news, splits, commercial boycotts, and the fall in sales caused by the coronavirus. This Christmas, cava producers expect double-digit sales growth after having managed to increase the number of bottles sold by 16.45% in the first three quarters of the year. The goal is to close the year reaching pre-pandemic values.
In parallel, the producing companies celebrate the new regulation launched by the Regulatory Council, which is committed to zoning and segmentation, bringing fresh air to the wineries, which now feel they have the tools to claim their quality, identification with the territory, and differentiation in a highly competitive international market. "We are living a magical moment; we have equipped ourselves with a new framework that allows us to personalize products and leads us to explode as a sector; now we have no more excuses," states Josep Maria Pujol-Busquets, owner of the Alta Alella winery, emphatically.
According to the businessman, it has been "a small miracle" that the Regulatory Council chaired by Javier Pagés has managed to get an entire sector to agree to create a new segmentation (cavas de guarda and de guarda superior) and zoning, with the creation of four differentiated production areas: Comtats de Barcelona to encompass cavas from Catalonia (with the sub-zones Valls d'Anoia-Foix; Serra de mar; Conca del Gaia; Serra de Prades i Pla de Ponent); from the Valle del Ebro (with the sub-zones Alto Ebro and Valle del Cierzo); Viñedos de Almendralejo, and Levante (pending decision on its definitive nomenclature).
"With this regulation, cava producers feel heard; we are launching a very exciting new project that allows us to look to the future with optimism and provides us with very demanding regulations," says Maite Esteve, CEO of Vins el Cep. Along the same lines, the president of Juvé & Camps, Joan Juvé, confirms that after "many years of effort" the cava sector "has an unquestionable future" that involves bringing to the consumer "the different personalities of cava" and its great aging potential. According to Juvé, cava has unique wines that differentiate it from champagne, such as brut nature, that is, cavas without added sugar, "a product that is almost non-existent in champagne."
For his part, Josep Maria Ferrer, member of the board of directors of Henkell Freixenet and CEO of Vins Família Ferrer, believes that the new cava regulation "will be very positive" for the sector and highlights its "rigor, as it guarantees quality, differentiation and allows to value long aging". "Cava is the best sparkling wine in the world to compete in quality and price", added Ferrer, who, however, called for a greater effort to make consumers aware of the new zones and the specificities of the new regulation, which can often cause confusion.
Bruno Colomer, head of enology at Codorníu, also confirms "the new enthusiasm and the sweet moment" that the sector is experiencing. "We are starting a very beautiful stage, where we will be able to better explain to the world how we work and the distinctive features of cava". According to Colomer, Codorníu plans to identify 100% of its production under the new brand Comtats de Barcelona, as all the grapes supplied to the company come from Catalonia. In the case of cava produced in Raimat, the bottles will be identified with the Pla de Ponent subzone.
Codorníu plans to identify 100% of its production under the new brand Comtats de Barcelona, as all the grapes supplied to the company come from CataloniaFor the president of the Regulatory Council, Javier Pagés, who was the general director of Codorníu until the sale of the company to the Carlyle fund,cava is demonstrating "dynamism and resilience" in a pandemic environment and strong international competition in the sparkling wine segment, where it must face, for example, bestsellers like Prosecco. Pagés admits that the great challenge lies in educating the consumer, since despite being two sparkling wines, there is a great difference between Cava and Italian Prosecco. This difference lies in the production method, since, like champagne, Cava subjects the wine to a second fermentation process within each bottle, with a minimum aging of nine months, while Prosecco does not take this step, since its fermentation is carried out in large tanks and the wine is ready to go to market in only two or three months. "It's another philosophy and style of sparkling wines; Cava opts for aging, a distinctive element that provides greater complexity to the product," he explains.
According to Pagés, between January and September 2021, 157.78 million bottles of Cava were sold, a 16.45% increase compared to the same period last year (135.5 million). Superior aged Cavas, the new category that includes Reserva Cavas, which grew by 35%, and Gran Reserva Cavas, which experienced an increase of 42%, have grown especially. For their part, aged Cavas (the youngest, with a minimum aging of nine months) advanced by 14%. "The Cava sector is notably overcoming adversities and decisively opting for longer-aged products, exponents of high quality and connection to the territory," emphasizes the president of the designation of origin. Gran Reserva Cavas (minimum of 36 months of aging), however, currently only represent 2% of the sector; the weight of Reserva (more than 18 months) is 11%.
This group of superior aged Cavas ---which will be 100% organic in 2025--- also includes the Cavas de Paraje Calificado, the highest category of the DO Cava. These are half a dozen Cavas that play in the Champions League of international sparkling wines: Alta Alella Mirgin Opus (Alta Alella), Pere Ventura Gran Vintage (Pere Ventura), Claror (Vins el Cep), La Capella (Juvé & Camps), Can Sala (Vins Família Ferrer) and La Pleta, La Fideuera and El Tros Nou (Codorníu). The Regulatory Council has received applications for four more Cavas de Paraje, although they have not yet been approved.
"The cava sector is notably overcoming adversities and decisively betting on longer-aged products, exponents of high quality and connection with the territory," Javier PagésThe DO Cava is the most exported from Spain, as 76% of the bottles are consumed by the international market.During the first nine months of the year, the strong growth of 63% experienced in the United States stands out, a country that is already the second main global market for cava, behind Germany, where an 11.87% advance has been made. Other significant destinations are the Netherlands (+22%), Russia (+44%) and Canada (+28%). According to Pagés, in these first nine months of the year, cava sales have not decreased in any of the ten main markets, "a clear sign of the good post-pandemic recovery."
The president of the Regulatory Council is optimistic about the Christmas campaign, which generates 30% of the year's sales. "People want to live and enjoy; it should not be a bad Christmas for cava, we depend on the evolution of the pandemic, but we trust in maintaining that double-digit growth; if so, it will be a complete success," he concludes.